The number and types of electronic devices that are available to the public has increased dramatically in the past few years. Tablet, netbook, and laptop computers, printers, cameras, media players, portable media players, smart, media, and cell phones, and other devices have proliferated.
Often these devices have connectors for receiving other electronic devices or connections to other electronic devices. These other electronic devices include removable memory devices. Removable memory devices may be inserted by a user into a connector in an electronic device to increase the memory capacity of the electronic device. For example, “film” in the form of a memory card may be inserted into a camera, where the memory card is used to store photographic images. These removable memory cards may include Secure Digital, SmartMedia, Compact Flash, and other types of memory cards.
The capability to increase memory capacity may be very important for an electronic device. For example, a camera may have little or no internal memory, and may rely solely or primarily on a memory card. If the memory card connector of an electronic device is damaged, the usefulness of the electronic device is diminished.
This damage may occur at different times. For example, a connector may be damaged during electronic device manufacturing. For example, the connector may be damaged when it is connected to other electronic circuits and components in the electronic device, or when it is enclosed in a housing in the electronic device. The connector may also be damaged during device use, either by the environment in which the device is used, or by a user of the device.
Thus, what is needed are connectors that may be incorporated by and used in electronic devices in a reliable manner. For example, it may be useful to have connectors that may be connected to other electronic circuits and components in an electronic device, and enclosed in a device housing without sustaining damage. It may also be useful to have connectors that can be used reliably with a reduced chance of damage from the environment or the electronic device's user.